Back to the Beginning (V2)
by shadow12
Summary: Naruto defeated Madara but he still lost it all in the end. With the Kyuubi's help Naruto will turn back time to correct the mistakes. In doing so he will face enemies old and new, and maybe find just what he's missed out on. Harem of 7. Its still the same story, but made better and a bit more serious.
1. Going Back

**Okay so here's the rewrite of Chapter One. Hope it's better than what it was before and please tell me what you think of this new version.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise.**

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**Chapter 1: Going Back. **

_Failure._

It was funny how many times a word or saying could go through someone's head in a span of a few minutes. Until now, Naruto hadn't put much thought into that, but now, as the burning buildings around him lit the dark night, he found himself thinking about just that.

_The inability or lack of being successful in any given area. (1)_

The very meaning of that vile word stung Naruto in the deepest pits of his being.

It wasn't meant to turn out like this. Things were supposed to be different. His efforts were not meant to be wasted! He was meant to go on and defeat the enemy and keep his promises!

'_Damn it! This was NOT supposed to be how this ended! Not this way!'_

But yet, despite all his efforts, it had.

He had failed to protect his friends.

He failed to beat the one who had caused everyone so much pain.

He failed to beat Madara.

Tears stung his eyes as the images of the last few hours flew past his mind's eye. He remembered Kakashi and Obito being swallowed by that Kamui technique. He remembered watching the lights fading from Tsunade's eyes as she lay in pieces beneath a giant tree and used her last breath to grant him the title he had long sought after in his life. He remembered being bound as he watched Lee and Hinata give their lives to save him from the reincarnated Nagato and his pains. He remembered freezing up and watching as the resurrected Jubi shot a spike at him, only for Neji to take the hit for him. Team nine and everyone else's deaths by means of Sasuke's Chidori and Sakura's betrayal of the Shinobi alliance.

All this and more ran through Naruto's head, but as the memories stopped, they left him to relive one last sacrifice. The sacrifice of his most precious person.

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"_NARUTO! LOOK OUT!" _

_Just as he went to dodge the blade of his renegade teammate, a body impacted Naruto's back and sent him flying several yards._

"_What? T-"_

_Naruto's blood ran cold when he reacted too late and could only watch as the Uchiha duo impaled her with their swords._

_He watched, unable to do anything other than that, as her body went ridged and blood spewed from her wound and she coughed up blood._

"_Na-Naruto," she coughed through the blood, the light in her chocolate brown eyes was dimming as she looked at him._

"_I...I… L-urg!" whatever she was going to say was cut off by the blades in her stomach being ruthlessly withdrawn by the Uchiha._

_Sasuke watched the girl lifelessly fall with a stotic look as Madara's cackling laughter rang through the air. "So ends the last of the Jinchuriki's little friends." The lunatic cackled as he turned a sickening grin to the frozen Uzumaki._

"_It's been fun, boy, but this is the end for you and the rest of the villages. So give up and let me take what is rightfully mine!"_

_The man's voice fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to stare at the lifeless body of his best friend. Suddenly Naruto's brows creased and his vision went completely red._

"_**URRRRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"**_

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The next thing Naruto would know was coming too with a heavily bleeding hole in his shoulder and nothing but burning and destroyed buildings all around him.

Naruto grunted as he strained in an effort to turn his head, the sting of his bruised skin being drug across the rough soot covered ground from where he had fallen from the blood loss and exhaustion didn't register to him much if at all.

The tears in his eyes feel at last when he met the sight of _her _body a short distance away from him. He couldn't do it. All his efforts, all the sweat blood and tears he had put into preparation for this day had all been a waist.

"E-Everyone," he grunted as he used what little strength he had to drag himself over to her, "I-I am so s-sorry." He gasped out. "We t-trained so hard, we told each other we would make it out of this alive, all of us. But when the time came, we couldn't do it, I couldn't do it." He muttered as he approached.

"I couldn't keep my promises to you all, I couldn't save anyone. B-But, mostly, I couldn't save _you." _Naruto gasped out in pain as he finally reach _her _and grasped one of her hands.

"T-There's no way I'm going to the same place as you, not with how many p-people who've died because of me. I just hope I can catch a glimpse of you one more time on my way there."

The last of his strength leaving him, and blood pooling under him, Naruto's head fell to the ground with a soft thud, still grasping _her _hand as his vision finally faded into blackness.

But even as his life faded away from him, Naruto managed to speak his last words, in a barely audible whisper.

"It's over."

Only thing was, he wasn't expecting an answer.

"**Not quite, kit."**

Naruto's eyes shot open and he found himself in front of a familiar cage in a sewer with ankle deep water.

Before him two crimson eyes stared down at him from the depths of the cage housing the Kyuubi.

"What is it now, fox? If it's what I think it is than I would rather you skip it and let me die in piece." He asked with a sigh as he sat down in a slump.

There was a short pause from the fox before it answered. **"I have not called you here for that, kit. In fact I want to thank you."**

Naruto's head snapped up as he sprang to his feet and he glared into the eyes above him, "you want to thank me? Thank me for what, finally proving you right about not being able to defeat Madara? Or is this about granting you the freedom you want before I die? Well guess what, I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT SHIT! I DID MY BEST TO END THIS WAR, AND I STILL LOST IT ALL IN THE END! SO TELL ME KYUUBI, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO THANK ME FOR?!"

By now Naruto had worked himself up into a rage, but as the last of his piece escaped him he collapsed onto his knees and for the first time since he was a small child, he cried. He cried for all his friends, his loved ones and most of all _her._ All of his anger, sorrow, regret, everything he had suppressed since his childhood came to the surface and added to the endless stream of tears.

It took several moments for Naruto to calm himself, and when he did he only sat there, a quivering mess of emotions.

The Kyuubi stared down at the form of her jailer before her eyes closed and a soft sigh escaped her as she shook her head slightly. _**'Kushina, if only I hadn't allowed that man to gain control over me that day; all of this wouldn't have happened.' **_She thought.

"**Naruto," **she muttered, drawing his attention.

When the teenager looked up at her, she fixed him with an intense gaze. **"I called you here because of that. Not to rub your failure in your face like I may have in the past, because, believe it or not, that Kyuubi was not real." **She explained.

When she saw the questioning look in his eyes she went on, **"from what I can tell of your memories, your parents already explained the night of my attack, so you already know that Madara-teme forced me to attack Konoha by placing me in a Genjutsu. Yes?"**

Kyuubi waited for Naruto's nod before she continued, **"What you do not know was that his Genjutsu stayed with me after the sealing, it forced me to surrender myself to my rage and hatred. When you lost control of your emotions and my chakra and ultimately ended up killing him, that other Uchiha and that traitorous howler monkey. You freed me and allowed me to take my first free breath in over eighteen years. For that, I thank you."**

By now, Naruto was staring at his tenant in a state of near shock. It was obvious to the Kyuubi that he was still processing the recent information.

Several moments later Naruto groaned and rubbed his head. "Okay, fine. Say I believe you, and that you're telling the truth. How does this help me now of all times? In case you forget, I'm lying in a pool of my own blood and near death."

Kyuubi huffed. **"So I saw," **she muttered, **"but do you really expect me with my power to not know of a way to reverse the damage done not only to you, but the timeline as well?"**

At this Naruto froze, had he heard the fox right? Was it really offering him what he thought it was?

Kyuubi smirked when she saw his expression, it was almost priceless, but she interrupted him when he opened his mouth to speak. **"Before you ask, yes I really can turn back the time. It's a technique that every Biju knows, but we prefer not to use it as it causes trouble amongst our ranks when one of us does and the others find out. However, considering what has happened to this timeline, I am offering this to you. But it is your choice. However, if you do accept this than there are some things you will need to know."**

"Such as?" Naruto managed to ask through the haze in his mind from learning all this.

Kyuubi looked at him with an intense gaze again, it was almost like she was sizing him up for something, but it passed when she spoke again.

"**Such as a quarter of the seal will need to be removed and the resulting overload of my chakra through your system may have some side effects."**

"Side effects?" Naruto muttered, as he finally stood but his head was bowed.

Kyuubi nodded, **"it won't be anything major…probably. But I know for a fact you wouldn't grow a tail or sprout fox ears, if that's what you're asking, mostly just your eyesight and other senses receiving a major boost." ** She reassured.

"I see." Naruto muttered quietly. He was a little put off at the pause in the fox's voice though.

All was silent for a few moments as he thought everything over before his head shot up and his eyes blazed with a determined fire the likes of which Kyuubi had never scene.

"I accept!" he spoke clearly and confidently for the first time since entering the seal. He approached the seal and placed his hand on a corner of it.

Taken aback slightly Kyuubi stared at him for a moment before smirking.

"**Very well, kit. Just to let you know though, this will hurt quite a bit. But before we do this, I've got to ask why?"** she asked, genuine curiosity showed through her voice at the question.

Naruto bowed his head and his form started to shake. "B-Because," he started in a shaky voice. "I have failed my friends and everyone in the Hidden Leaf, and if I let this opportunity slip past me without taking it, I won't be able to face them in the afterlife. I've failed them once and I will not do so again, anything I can do to prevent them all from suffering this fate is worth it. If it's for them I will take any amount of pain necessary. Especially if I can save _her_!"

The Kyuubi stared at the blonde for a few moments as what he said sank in. She nodded once it had.

"**Akane"**

One of Naruto's eyebrows rose in confusion when she spoke, "huh?"

Kyuubi shook her head, **"that's my name, kit. A Biju only gives their true name when they meet someone they truly respect. With your answer you've proven to me that you are respectable enough to not go back on your word. As such, I have given you my name."**

Naruto looked a little stunned before he nodded with a small smile on his lips and he clutched the seal tighter.

"Well then. It nice to meat you Akane, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He said before tightening his grip on the seal more and tearing a full corner from the tag.

Almost immediately afterwards Naruto's body was covered in a dark red mass of chakra and was raked with an unreal amount of pain, but he held in any screams of pain that tried to escape him.

Seeing this, the now named Akane set the jutsu into motion.

"**Time Style: Reversal!" **she muttered as the jutsu took hold and the world began to darken around them.

As his vision darkened for a second time that day, Naruto managed to get one last thought through his head before it went completely black.

'_I won't fail you again…Tenten.'_

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**(1) That's what it means to me at least.**

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**Okay**** so this is the rewrite of my Back to the Beginning story, and despite my note on chapter twenty of the original, I started it over with as a version two story. Don't fret though, it'll still be the same story line, just written a hell of a lot better than before and have the same pairings.**

**I just want to make things a bit more believable is all as I feel I rushed things a bit too fast last time.**

**Please review.**


	2. Getting Started Pt 1

**Sorry for the repost of this one everyone, but I received a complaint that this one was too short so I went back and added what I was saving for the next chapter to make up for it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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**Chapter 2: Getting Started Pt. 1**

If there was anything Naruto hated about his mornings, it was waking up to blinding sunlight and an extremely uncomfortable bed.

He groaned in annoyance at his 'somewhat' peaceful sleep being disturbed as he rolled over and burrowed himself deeper into his blankets.

"I've really gotta ask Tsunade-baachan about getting a new apartment." he mumbled tiredly into his pillow. "That dream was pretty strange though." he finished as a tired afterthought as he tried to resume his slumber.

He was having relative success at it before the memory of said 'dream' played through his mind again.

His failure at beating Madara, cheating death, meeting with the fox and learning that it had been in a Genjutsu all along and then going back in time.

Naruto's eyes flew wide open as the realization that his dream was an actual event and that he was indeed back in the past. Slowly, ever so slowly, a grin formed on the blonde's face and he sprang to his feet on his bed and cheered loudly…

…at least that's what would of happened had Naruto not found his face being intimately introduced to the wall, hard enough to leave behind a faint impression of his shocked expression in the plaster.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked in surprise as he lifted himself from the floor, only to find himself once again thrown to the side of the room by seemingly nothing.

Though as he once again tried to stand, and being sent back into the wall as a result, Naruto realized what was happening. He was throwing himself around his room in his efforts to move! Literally!

Fearful of why this was happening and being unable to explain why he was having problems in moving, Naruto turned to the only one who he knew could provide some answers. That being the one who brought him back.

'_Kyuubi!' _he shouted in his mind as he continued to try, and fail, to use his limbs correctly.

A tired grunt was his response before his mind went quiet again.

Sighing quietly, Naruto tried again. _'KYUUBI! WAKE UP!"_

This time he got the response he was looking for as a tired groan rang in his mind. **"What is it kit? Working the jutsu to send us back took a lot out of me and I'm trying to rest." **Was the tired mutter from the fox, **"and I told you before, my name is Akane. I hate being called by my title."**

A small bead of sweat appeared on Naruto's head at that. _'Sorry Akane, but every time I move I end up sending myself into a wall! Why can't I move properly? And when did you send us to exactly?' _he asked as he tried to move again and was met with much the same results as before.

Naruto heard her grumble something as he continued trying to move and was suddenly met with an amused chuckle.

'_This isn't funny!' _he exclaimed in annoyance as he gave up trying to move and instead settled for laying where he was on the floor.

From his position he saw that everything in his room was much larger than what he was comfortable with. A few Ramen themed posters dotted the walls, and several of his old orange jump suites littered the floor around him.

Naruto sighed in exasperation at the sight of his room. Was he really this messy when he was younger? But more importantly, why the hell was everything so much larger than what it was supposed to be.

"**Hm-hm,"** Akane chuckled, **"sorry kit. But what you going through is the result of putting an older mind inside of a younger body." **Akane explained to his original question. **"Basically, your mind commands like an adult, but your body moves as a child. All the signals are meant for a different type of body structure, thus the reach and strength your limbs are told to use is overkill and why you keep throwing yourself around especially since you are used to using much more than your body's current level of strength. And if your memories are anything to go by then I'd say I brought us back to the day you had off before your team placements."**

Naruto sighed at the explanation. _'So if I understand this right then I'm in my younger body and my brain is trying to tell it to move like it would when it was older?' (1) _

He heard Akane's hum of confirmation, **"that's a dumbed down version of what I just said, but yes."**

'_Great.' _Naruto groaned. _'I'm back to being a midget! And to top it all off I can't even move right!' _he complained as a mental image of himself sat in a small ball and cried waterfall tears as a storm cloud pored rain down on him. The only upside to this that Naruto saw was that he didn't need to be anywhere and could use the day to get used to his body again and then do whatever he had left to do in the time remaining afterwards.

One of Naruto's eye brows twitched when he heard another amused chuckle from his tenant. But there was something different about it this time. It was lighter, much more so than what he was used to hearing when he talked to the fox. It sounded more human than before and it was almost…feminine? The Kyuubi of all things was...giggling?

Gulping slightly, and praying to Kami that the sudden feeling in his gut was wrong and that his next actions weren't going to get him killed, Naruto closed his eyes and allowed his consciousness to drift into his mind.

'_**Mindscape'**_

Naruto opened his eyes as soon as he felt himself enter the familiar area of his mindscape. Looking around the area Naruto saw that his surroundings were much the same as they were. Still the same dank, dark and wet sewer, but just as he looked at the cage holding the Kyuubi, he froze.

Sitting right behind giant bars of the cage was a girl, staring at him with wide eyes. The cause of their surprise? Well, the girl was completely naked!

You can do the math as to why both parties would be surprised.

Although frozen in shock, Naruto's eyes were hard at work in taking in the girl's form. Doing so allowed him to see that she had lush red hair, from which a pair of black tipped fox ears were visible, a pale and unblemished face, a small button nose and thin red lips. The girl's eyes, although wide with surprise, were a dark blood red and held slitted pupils.

Unable to stop them from doing so, Naruto's eyes traveled past her face and his eyes met the sight of a pair of B-almost C-cup breasts, with her nipples being a slightly lighter shade of pink than the areolas around them. The sight captivated him for several long seconds before he managed to pry his eyes away long enough for them to finish their trail downwards to her finely toned stomach and wide, curvy hips and then down her long, almost endless legs, which were laid out before her and slightly spread, allowing Naruto to catch a glimpse of the prize between them and the neatly shaved patch of red above it. The fact that she had nine tails sprouting out from her tail bone was lost on Naruto as he continued to stare. (2)

Had Naruto not been so captive with the sight of the goddess before him then he would have been cursing Jiraiya for somehow causing the situation he was in. He knew that, somehow, the old Toad Sage was responsible for the situation he found himself in.

Having finished their inspection, Naruto's eyes flew back up to the girls face as a cherry red blush bloomed on his own.

They simply stared at each other before the girl's expression changed to a smirk and she leaned forward slightly, bringing her arms forward and between her legs to brace herself against the wet floor of the mindscape with. Doing this had the added effect squashing her breasts against each other.

Naruto's blush grew by epic proportions and a trail of blood started to leak from his nose at the sight.

"Like what you see…Naruto-kun?" she asked, her tone of voice husky.

The question, mixed in with seductive tone she asked it in, caused the blood leaking from Naruto's nose to increase until it was a literal geyser strong enough to lift him off his feet and fling him against the wall of the sewer and into the land of dreams.

Akane giggled at the reaction of her host, and although she was still slightly shocked that he had chosen to come into the mindscape and saw her in her human form and naked on top of it that, she found his reaction rather refreshing.

'_Well, one thing is for certain.' _she thought to herself as she stood and made some cloths appear on her figure. _'Things are certainly going to be fun this time around._

She took a deep breath and braced herself as she stepped between one of the wide gaps between the bars of the cage. (3)

Even though she had prepared herself for it, Akane still gasped and hunched over, breathing deeply when she felt her power try to follow her through the cage, but was stopped by the seal.

Taking another breath and standing straight, Akane saw what remained of the seal on the cage glowing an angry red.

She grinned, obviously pleased with herself, before turning and walking towards the unconscious blonde, intent of waking him up and explaining a few things to him.

'_**Several minutes later'**_

Naruto awoke with the feeling of his head resting on a surface softer than what the surface of his mindscape should have been. Opening his eyes he saw the face of someone he could only describe as a goddess smiling gently down at him, which he returned with a small grin of his own.

They stayed that way for several moments before Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered just how he had ended up on the floor.

His face paling considerably, he sprang to his feet and bowed deeply to her.

"I'm so sorry Akane! I swear I didn't mean to see you like that! Please don't be angry!" he begged.

Akane frowned at this. Did he expect to be hit for getting an accidental peek? It was only an accident after all so it wasn't like she was going to suddenly turn back into her fox form and tear him limb from limb for seeing her like that.

Rolling her eyes and shrugging his apologies off, Akane stood up and addressed her host with a smile.

"It's alright Naruto, I had only just changed into my human form when you appeared here and had yet to realize that I was naked so there's no need for any apologies. I'm not angry with you for getting a peek as I was just as surprised as you were." She said, approaching him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You're not?" he asked, looking up curiously.

Akane shook her head and Naruto sighed in relief as he straightened up. But as he did so he noticed for the first time since coming to that Akane was clothed in a sky blue kimono with snowflakes dotting it and a dark purple sash tied around waist to keep it closed.

Normally Naruto was hopeless when it came to the subject of cloths and looks, but the way Akane's outfit both contrasted with and brought out the color of her red hair and eyes made her look stunning in Naruto's eyes. She looked way better than any girl he knew, minus one exception, and he felt his face grow warm as his heart sped up.

'_What is this?' _he questioned himself at the feeling of his heart rate increasing. Why was he feeling this way? In all his life Naruto had only felt like this when he was around-

"Naruto," he lost his trail of thoughts when he heard Akane speak and he returned his full attention to her.

Seeing that she had his attention now, Akane continued. "If you really intend to fix the timeline then there are a few things you must know." As she spoke her voice was the optimum of serious, letting Naruto know just how vital the information he needed to know really was.

He nodded as his face became expressionless.

Akane nodded and pushed forward with the conversation. "First of all," she began, "you must never, and I repeat NEVER, let anyone know that you are from the future, the results of doing so may very well be catastrophic." She waited for Naruto nod before continuing.

"Second," here she fixed the blonde with a fierce gaze, "You're going to need to take everything seriously, no more acting like an idiot. Especially when I know you are so much more than that! Got it?" she asked.

Naruto nodded again. Most of his life he had been wearing a mask of false stupidity and happiness. The only times he actually got to show off his true personality was when he was around the old man, Jiraiya, Tsunade and a few other select people he knew he could trust with his life.

But he supposed Akane was right on this matter. It was high time he dropped his mask and showed the village just what he was made of, especially now that he was back before they respected him and saw him as an actual human instead of a demon in human skin.

"And thirdly," Akane spoke again; well aware of what was going through her hosts mind. "Get a better outfit." She said. "An orange jump suit is not a good choice of clothing for a Shinobi to wear. I'm actually surprised you got away with painting the Hokage monument in broad daylight wearing that thing."

Naruto's emotionless face broke out into a smirk at that last part. It was a testament to his stealth skills that he was able to get away with doing that, let alone in a jump suit that actually screams 'here I am, come kill me!' with how bright it was.

He digressed though, Akane was right again. He needed a better outfit if he was going to make any serious changes in the timeline and to do that he needed people to take him seriously, and wearing a Bright orange jump suit that was more than likely to give him away was not going to in achieving that.

He nodded again and Akane's expression softened to what it was before.

"Glad you understand Naruto, I can only work the jutsu to send us back once every hundred years or so, and even then I risk the ridicule of the other Biju. But I needed you to know just how important it is that you do not mess this up." She said, and Naruto nodded again.

"I understand Akane-Chan, and I really appreciate the risk you have taken to allow me the chance to make things right; if there's any way I can return the favor let me know." He said, smiling at her, unknowing that he had added the honorific to the end of her name.

Even though she could tell how honest Naruto was in wanting to return the favor, Akane mind was on something else, _'-Chan?' _she thought as a light pink dusted her cheeks. _'Did he just call me –Chan? We only just met though! Maybe he's just being friendly? Yeah that's got to be it. I mean he can't possibly like me like that already.' (3)_ She thought before Naruto's words registered with her and she smiled at him.

"Thank you Naruto, but the only thing I really want is a better living area, but I don't even think that it's possible as none of my previous jinchuriki have been able to…to…" she trailed as her eyes widened when the area around them began to change.

It wasn't much at first, but the change started with the walls of Naruto's mindscape wavering and then disappearing. After that it was the bars of the cage and then the floor vanishing, leaving nothing but a black void left to be the mindscape.

Akane gasped in surprise when she felt the power she had left in the cage suddenly crash into her and almost drive her to her knees and a choker with the kanji for 'seal' appeared on around her neck. But what would come next would cause an even bigger surprise for her.

The dark sky started to lighten until it was a beautiful shade of blue, grass and flowers began to sprout beneath her feet until they were standing in the middle of a large meadow inside that stretched as far as the eyes could see. Then a lake appeared at the center of the meadow and then a few trees grew out of nowhere. One tree in particular was larger than the all the others though and would have dwarfed her fox form and held a hollow trunk, large enough for a few people to sit inside comfortably with plenty of room to spare.

And then Akane heard it, a small little yipping coming from the distance. Looking over she saw, much to her amazement, a small flock of fox kits playing by the edge of the lake.

Her eyes watered with tears of joy as she looked at the world around her. Never in all her years would she have imagined that there could possibly be a place as beautiful as this, but here she was, standing in that place. A place created especially for her.

Akane turned to the one responsible for its creation, the one who was now smiling at her softly as he watched her reaction to what he had created. She did the first thing that came to her mind.

Naruto smiled at the red head beside him as he watched her reaction to her new home. For some reason the way Akane smiled as she looked around made his heart react as it had before, it confused him, but he felt that as long as she was happy then he was happy.

But his eyes went wide when he suddenly felt something soft land on one of his whiskered cheeks. He blushed when he realized what it was. Akane's lips! She was kissing him!

Naruto stood there, stunned as to what was happening. But after a moment he felt Akane's lips retreat and she stepped back, a bright blush on her face and a large smile.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." She said bashfully. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to be out of that sewer after so long. It wasn't exactly what one could call _healthy living_."

Naruto, although still blushing from the kiss and addition to his name, nodded happily and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm glad you like it Akane-Chan. It's the least I can do for all the you've been already." He said.

Akane smiled brightly and nodded in return.

Naruto suddenly grimaced when he realized he had already been in his mindscape for longer than he expected to be, and while he didn't want to leave Akane just yet, he also knew that he had things to do.

"Akane, it been fun, really, but I've got to go. I still got to get used to this body again and then there's the rest of what needs to be done." He said, he was more than a little reluctant to leave, but there were things he needed to do.

Akane nodded, her smile never leaving her face. "Alright Naruto-kun, we'll talk later. But hurry back." She said with a small wave and a wink.

Naruto blushed, something about that wink spoke about more than what she was saying, and to tell the truth, it unnerved him a bit.

"O-Okay then, see you later." He stuttered out with a wave of his own as he disappeared from the mindscape.

Akane's smile morphed into a small smirk when he vanished, _'oh yes Naruto-kun, we'll be doing a lot of _talking _in the near future.' _She giggled as she turned and started to walk in the opposite direction to explore her new home.

It was hard to believe, but during the few mere hours Akane had known him, Naruto had caught her curiosity. And when something caught her curiosity, she never let up until it was satisfied.

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**(1) One thing I noticed about most time travel fics, why isn't this idea used more often? I mean it would make since considering he goes from a fully grown adult to being a short 12/13 year old in literally a matter of seconds/minuets. He would have trouble in his older body would he not?**

**(2) It the same basic description used in the last version, but I decided to add a bit more detail to it.**

**(3) Did you really expect me to leave that part out of the original out? :P**

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**CUT! **

**Okay everyone here's the second chapter and I really hope you all liked it. I'm going to have a lot on my plate for the next few days seeing as I've got a college tour tomorrow and then several other matters that will require most of my attention. But I will try to get the next out as soon as I can; so it should be up sometime within the next week. I'll admit though, the ending was a bit rushed but I'm tired and I've spent the last five hours working on adding on to what was here before.**

**Oh and I'm a bit undecided about something. You see, I've been tossing the idea of killing Zabuza at the end of the wave arc around and then having Haku go to the leaf as a last request from him. So I**'**ve put a poll up to let you guys decide. The final decision will be decided the day the next chapter gets posted, so hurry up and vote**

**Anyway, review and all that jazz and I'll be sure to get the next update out as soon as I**** can.**


	3. Getting Started Pt 2

**Well guys the results of the poll are in, and out of 34 voters it looks like a majority of 47% was in favor of letting Zabuza live. Oh well, his living fits in better with what I have planned anyway, just figured I'd consider the possibility.**

**I only got a few reviews last chapter, less than the first in fact, what's up with that? But thanks to all who did, and I hope you like this one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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**Chapter 3: Getting Started Pt. 2**

Naruto shivered in inexplicable fear as he made his way to a training field and looked around, _'why do I get the feeling someone's coming after me?' _he questioned. Before shaking his head and going back to his thoughts and locking his apartment door behind him as he left and started heading out.

It took Naruto several hours and numerous tries to get used to his younger body. Most of said tries involved him being sent flying across the room and having either his face or back reintroduced to the surface of one of the bedroom walls before he was able to stand properly.

From there on it took yet another hour for him to figure out how to walk without tripping over his own two feet. And even a further ten minutes before he was able to gain enough control over his shorter leg muscles to jump high enough to reach his ceiling without driving his head through it or falling short of it.

However, the first, and only, time Naruto had tried to stick to it by using his chakra he'd been sent crashing back down to the floor. After recovering from being knocked silly, Naruto had come to two conclusions. The first was that he was not going to do that again. And second; something was seriously messing up his chakra control. Something he intended to find and correct immediately and possibly see if it affected his jutsu.

That was how he now found himself walking down a side path to one of the training grounds Konoha housed. Said training ground being one of the more unused ones as it was close to training ground 44, otherwise known as the 'Forest of Death'.

As he went, Naruto thought of all his abilities and the likely hood of which he would be able to use and which were currently lost to him.

_'Shadow Clone is a definite, since I technically learned it 'last night'.' _He thought. _'But even then that's possibly the only jutsu I'll be able to use, and even if I'm able to use some of my others I'll have to keep them hidden until I'm 'supposed' to know them.' _ Naruto grimaced.

He knew there was a distinct possibility that he would be able use the Rasengan seeing as he had learned it in this body, but even then it would have to be with a bit of control work, and with a clone to help with shaping it.

_'And to think that all the work I did to get the Rasengan to work one handed; all of it, down the drain.' _He thought, mentally weeping at the prospect of all his hard work being flushed down the drain.

Sage Mode was a definite no as he no longer had the Toad contract to allow its use. Besides, even if he had the ability to use it than he would need the contract to be able to seeing as it was a toad clan jutsu; and that wouldn't happen until the Chunin Exams-which were another three months away, now that he thought about it-at least.

_'It's odd though.' _He mused looking to the sky as he continued to walk. _'I can still feel the nature chakra around me. I wonder how that's possible.'_

It appeared Akane had been listening in as she chose this moment to speak**. "That may be a side effect of using the jutsu to come back." **She said.

Naruto's brow arched, _'how so?' _he asked.

He felt Akane shrug,** "I'm not really sure as there haven't been all that many sages like you and Jiraiya. But I suspect that after a while of using Nature Chakra that your body becomes accustom to sensing it around you. Your abilities with Nature Chakra surpassed those of what the toads expected them to, and even they admitted there were some things they didn't know about it. So it is possible that you kept the ability to sense it, you did use it quite a bit in the war after all."**

Naruto nodded, a bit surprised at the explanation. '_Yeah I suppose it's possible, but even though I can sense it I'll need the toad Contract again before I can even try using Sage Mode again.'_

A thoughtful look appeared on Akane's face as an idea crossed her mind**, '_maybe I could offer him _that_.' _**She thought before shoving the idea away,** _'there's a possibility they'll accept him, but I need to be sure before I do.' _**she thought as she turned her attention back to her host when he started speaking to her again.

_'Without Sage Mode I won't be able to use the Rasenshuriken, and I doubt I'd be able to use it anyway since my wind element is untrained at this point and the risk to my body would be too much if I were to try it.' _He thought grimacing again. Now that he was in his younger body he had many more limitations than he did before coming back, and if the Rasenshuriken broke his arm in his adult body he would hate to see what would happen to it when he tried it now. He was likely to sever it if he were to make an attempt.

Naruto brought his hand up to his face and stared at his palm. Although he knew his chakra control was shot and his element would need to be trained a bit before he started to implement it into the Rasengan, he knew he had one other variant that was possibly open to him. But he was worried about wither or not his body would be able to handle the strain of a wind enhanced Rasengan.

"You never know until you try." He muttered quoting an old saying he'd picked up during his training trip with Jiraiya.

**"Speaking of elements,"** Akane spoke up again**. "You may have gained another when my chakra surged through you and that was a rather large amount, even for a Biju like me."** She said. **"Oh and you might want to stop now, we're here."**

Naruto sweat dropped again at his laps, _'thanks Akane-Chan and I'll check on that after I get my hands on some chakra paper. Any idea on what it might be though?' _he asked looking up and seeing that he had indeed arrived at his destined training grounds.

It wasn't much as it was mostly a wide open field, but it had a good amount of trees dotting it and a small stream running directly down its center. The Forest of Death was clearly visible in the distance, thus why Naruto figured it would be a good place to train in secret since nobody but Anko Miterashi really wanted to get anywhere near there.

**"I'm not entirely sure about this, but it would most likely be fire as that's my own element."** Naruto nodded at her answer before forming a hand sign in the shape of a cross and calling on his chakra for his most used jutsu.

"Shadow clone Jutsu!"

There were numerous billows of smoke as the jutsu went to work in producing his copies, so much so that they blocked his sight for a few minutes.

When it cleared Naruto had to bite back the gasp that threatened to escape him at the sight of several hundred clones standing in front of him.

_"I only used enough chakra to make a hundred of them! Why's there so many of them?" _

He heard a sigh coming from his mind before Akane spoke again. **"That's another of the side effects I mentioned before we came back Naruto-kun. When my chakra was going through your system it most have boosted your chakra capacity quite a bit and messed with your chakra equations. Thus when you thought you were using enough chakra to make a hundred clones you actually used enough to make...**

**…**

**…how many did you make again?"**

A bead of sweat slide down the back of Naruto's head at the question; it must have been a surprise for even Akane if she was questioning the number of clones he made.

Shaking his head to clear it Naruto did a quick head count of his copies. His eyes widened again when he stopped at the four hundred mark.

"F-Four h-hundred?" he stuttered in shock. Now he understood why he couldn't use his chakra properly; he had four times as much of it as he did beforehand!

At that thought he groaned. While having more chakra to use than before may have seemed like a boon for anyone; it was more of a curse for Naruto.

He'd already had problems with his control before the jump back in time, and he'd had to expend nearly all his chakra every time he trained on his control to make enough shadow clones for several months to get it up to the point where he could _try_ making the Rasengan one handed, but now? Now he had no idea how long it would take to get it to that point, let alone to where he could actually _use it._

He simply stared at the crowd of clones before him for several long minutes before he heard a clearing of a throat and he looked around to see that the clones were looking at their creator with expectant looks, one of them, the one he figured had cleared its throat, had its arms crossed and a twitching eyebrow. Naruto felt another bead of sweat role down his head when he heard a giggle come from his mind, but turned his attention back to his clones in favor of starting his training.

"Right," he muttered, straightening up and fixing his clones with a serious gaze.

"Alright everyone, we have a day to get up to notch again so separate into two groups!" he ordered them. He waited until they had before continuing.

"Right then," he muttered to himself as he pointed to the group to his immediate left.

"Group one has chakra control. Divide into four groups of fifty." Again he waited until they did so before he delivered the rest of his instructions. "Group A. gets Leaf Concentration, B. gets Leaf Floating, C. is the Tree Climbing, and D. has Water walking. Dispel the best clone in each group every hour." He instructed, pointing to each of the groups in turn so they would know which was which. The clones nodded on reception of their tasks and left to do as told.

Grinning to himself, Naruto turned to the last half of his clones. "As for you all," he said, "your working on our wind manipulation. There are plenty of trees to go around so there shouldn't be any fighting over which of you get what leaf. You have the same dispel rotations. Got that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the group.

The clones nodded.

"Get to work." Naruto ordered simply.

"YES BOSS!" the clones roared in agreement as they rushed off to their tasks.

Naruto chuckled to himself; it was odd the way his clones acted sometimes. But hey, who was he to talk? They were him after all.

But his mind turned elsewhere right then and he frowned. _'Akane?'_ He asked as a thoughtful look crossed his features.

**"Yes?"**

_'Is there anything else I should know about this? I mean you mentioned several side effects that might happen to me and as far as I can tell, the only things that seem to be different are my chakra levels and the possibility of an extra affinity.' _He questioned, not bothering to include the ability to sense the nature around him bit. He didn't know if it was part of being a master sage and becoming accustom to sensing nature, or not. He'd have to figure it out when he was able to summon again.

Akane thought for a moment before she answered**. "Not that I really know of Naruto-kun. I've only used that jutsu once and it was when I wasn't sealed, so I can't be sure of what will happen. The enhancements to your senses are most likely going to take place sometime within the next few days though and when they do you're in for a rough time."** She informed, though she did sound remorseful at the last part.

Naruto sighed as he turned to level the training field and head for the direction of Konoha. _'I get the feeling that I'm not going to like the answer to this but, what exactly do you mean by 'rough time'?' _he asked.

He could hear the remorse in her voice when Akane spoke again**. "When I say 'rough time' I mean, you're in for a lot of pain. The best thing I could compare it to would be like staring at the sun on a cloudless day for several hours and multiplying that several times. And that's just going to be your vision alone."** She sighed.

Naruto's steps faltered slightly when she said this but he sighed in acceptance. _'That bad, huh?'_

Akane nodded meekly in the seal**, "I did warn you."**

Despite the information Naruto grinned as he picked up his pace. _'Well, I did choose this path so I guess I'll have to deal with it when it comes. If it means being able to save my friends than it worth it.' _He thought, this time to himself, and leapt onto the first rooftop to come into view. That way he could make it to his destination unimpeded by the early afternoon traffic.

His destination you might ask?

The ninja library.

Naruto figured he needed more techniques so he could be better equipped for the trails to come.

_'Come to think of it,' _He mused to himself, _'I think I should pick up a few books on jutsu creation. That way I can better surprise Madara and the Akatsuki when the time comes. It's amazing I actually survived on the ones I know now.' _He sweat dropped when he heard Akane giggle in his mind at that thought.

It was true though, the fact that he's only had two of the basic academy jutsu, Shadow Clones, the Rasengan and the Rasenshuriken was laughable.

So engrossed in his thoughts, Naruto never noticed a pair of narrow brown eye watching from in the trees before they vanished from sight.

**_'A few hours before hand'_**

_"NARUTO LOOK OUT!"_

She shot up in her bed as a strangled scream escaped her, a cold sweat drenching her body as she raised a trembling hand to her head.

She remembered pushing him away from a killing blow and taking it herself before trying to tell him something before everything had gone black. But yet she remembered being lucid enough to hear Madara's crazed laugh before a large roar and an unimaginable killing intent hit her and then everything had gone silent for a while. It had stayed that way for bit before she had felt something warm incase her increasingly cold hand and heard a voice she couldn't quite make out, and then. Nothing.

It was as if she had gone to sleep and then she woke up here.

Speaking of which.

_'W-What...w-where am I?'_ She thought, raising her head and looking around.

She could tell from the feel of it beneath her and the blanket covering her from the waist down that she was on a bed, but it was her surroundings that caught her attention the most. There was a small desk with numerous kunai and shuriken strewn across it sat against the cream colored wall to her right, a bedside table with a reading light on it sat beside her, and a pair of closed doors, one leading to a closet and the other to the hallway, was on the other side of the room.

Her eyes widened and she began to tremble more.

_'T-This is...'_ she thought.

"M-My r-room?" she gasped before she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror hanging on the door to her closet. The sight of a fourteen-year-old girl staring back at her with the same pale and trembling form as her own caused her to freeze.

"H-How?" she wondered in shock. She knew what she saw was no dream, she remembered the feeling of the swords impaling her; it actually happened. But still, how was she young again; why was she in her room at her house instead of a medical tent on the battle field?

It was then that something, while extremely unlikely but yet still surprisingly possible, came to her mind.

"He did this." she muttered darkly when the image of a blonde with a goofy smile appeared standing in her place in the mirror. One thing was clear to her now; she needed to find the one responsible for this. She needed to find Naruto!

Suddenly a shout echoed throughout the village, disturbing the peace of the midmorning.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI, YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

Thus why Naruto shivered.

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**CUT!**

**Okay guys sorry for the wait, but life has seriously gotten in the way of my righting lately. Good news is that I can officially say that my righting has come out of its slump now, and I intend to make sure that I don't let it do so again.**

**Anyway I know this chapter isn't very long and may be a bit shorter than the last but give me a break, the original chapter 3 was mostly Naruto reading through jutsu descriptions at the library, and I don't think you'd all want to read them.**

**Anyhow, please review and all that jazz so I know what you like and what I need to improve on, and I would really like for there to be more reviews than the last chapter. Please?**

**Shadow12 is outs!**


	4. NOT A CHAPTER!

**I'm sorry but this is not another update. The reason for this is to inform you all that the next chapter is going to take a bit longer to get out then it should. Chapter Four was almost entirely done when I went to work on it earlier today, but it has somehow gotten erased from my portable hard-drive and I am unable to retrieve it. Once again I am sorry for the inconvenience, but the chapter is on its way, just that it'll take a bit more time to get out.**

**I will try to get it done and have it out by next week at the latest, but I'm not promising anything just yet.**

**Shadow12**


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